#ThursYumYum - Sweet Potato Pie

1/3 C butter softened
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 C evaporated milk
2 C cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
9" unbaked pie shell

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix until well blended. Add milk, sweet potatoes, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Bake 35-40 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Review of The House on Tradd Street

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first in a series of books. The main character, Melanie Middleton, sees ghosts and doesn't want anyone to know it. In fact, she's been denying her gift for years. That's why she hates old houses and antiques. So inheriting an old house South of Broad in Charleston, SC, filled with ghosts is not on her things-to-do-before-I-die list.

When I first started reading this book, I felt pretty certain I would give it two or three stars. The main character's personality is not pleasing in the least. She's whiney, immature, and prickly. I think perhaps my aversion to Melanie comes from her repeated insistence that she hates old houses. She tells this to anyone who will listen over and over again. After the first couple of mentions, I got the hint. It took awhile longer for Melanie to let the reader know WHY she hates old houses. As the reader, I wouldn't have minded knowing this sooner, since Melanie knew it from before the beginning of the book. I'm not opposed to a less than likable heroine, except when it comes to romance. And this book definitely can be classified in a subgenre of romance.

Ms. Middleton is pursued by two men, Jack and Marc. It doesn't take long for the reader to realize that Marc is not a very nice guy and his intentions are not honest. On the contrary, Jack, although not always honest, at least means well and is truly attracted to Melanie (who knows why?). Melanie's determination to date Marc long after the reader knows she shouldn't is not credible. Jack details Marc's questionable business dealings and shady history to her, yet she still dates Marc even while she imagines it's Jack she's kissing! Her reason for this is thin. I won't spoil it by detailing why. This makes me think Melanie isn't very bright. I like heroines to have a modicum of common sense. How else is the heroine going to overcome her problems otherwise?

This book suffered from the need for a better edit. The text had so many typos, omitted words, and misspellings that it was distracting. I had a hard time getting past the first page. The word house was used seven times in the first seven sentences. Further into the chapter the word room was repeated several times in a close space. The redundancy interrupted the flow of the chapter. The pacing of the first few chapters read very choppy.

So why did I give the book four stars? The premise and the plot line were interesting. Once I got past the earlier chapters and got into the story, the pace picked up and smoothed out. By the time I was half-way through the book, I was in love with Jack and wanted desperately for Melanie to see he was the guy for her. Call me a hopeless romantic. The mystery surrounding the house Melanie inherited was unraveled at a pleasing rate. The suspense kept me turning the pages.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I'll be checking out the next book in this series.

View all my reviews

#MyPOV - 0002 - Lake near Port Angeles, WA

This lake near Port Angeles, WA inspired the setting for my current WIP.

In the Moment

watching her

caught in the moment

oblivious

a transforming smile

rising up from the

depths of her soul

bubbling over

real joy gurgling from

a deep well

spring of living water

laughter, refreshing and pure

flowing freely

covering those around her

caught in the moment

of watching her

share her joy

in the moment

Read more Theme Thursday at http://www.theme-thursday.com/
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Author, Author Interview

Today I'm being interviewed over at Krista Ames' blog. Please stop by and find out a bit more about me and my pending April release. You can find the interview at A Passion for Romance.

Some Friday Stuff About Me #4

Each week, Hilary lists four statements with a blank for you to fill in on your own blogs. If you want to join the fun and come up with four fill in’s of your own, please email them to her at feelingbeachie@gmail.com. If she uses them, she will add you as co-host to the hop! This week’s co-host is Nani from The Chronicles of Nani. She came up with the last two statements.
She would LOVE it if you could please help her spread the word about this hop…. So, please tweet, FaceBook share, and add the linky to your post…

This week’s statements:

1. I love _Starbucks coffee frappuccinos__ when I need a pick me up.

2. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t _resist Snickers bars. (Well, true confessions time...I don't try to resist them.)

3. _Hugging both of my children at the same time______ makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

4. I can’t resist a sale on __shoes. Duh!______.

#ThursYumYum - Cheesy Garlic Grits

4 C water, salted
1 C grits
1 stick butter, sliced in pieces
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash Worcestershire sauce
dash Tabasco
1 6oz. garlic cheese roll
1 C grated cheese (I prefer Colby/Jack)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 short cup of warm milk

Put grits in boiling water for 3 mins. Add butter, garlic powder, Worcestershire and Tabasco, garlic cheese, and grated cheese. Boil on medium heat until cheese melts, stirring constantly.

Put egg in measuring cup, add warm milk to make 1 C. Add to cheese and grits mix. Pour into greased, shallow casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

If you would like to contribute a favorite local recipe as a guest post, please let me know at dmoncrief161@att.net.